Ventilator



Jan. 27, 1953- s. HERSCH 5 VVVVVV ATOR Filed Aug. 28, 1950 Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENTILATOR Sam Hersch, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application August 28, 1950, Serial No. 181,723

This invention relates to ventilators, or Vent hoods, of the type adapted to be placed atop the roof of a building to permit passage of air 'or other gases, while precluding the admission of liquids or solids, principally the admission of precipitation-rain or snow. The instant ventilator is suitable for use either at the upper, discharge end of a combustion stack venting combustion gases from a burner inside the building, or as the upper terminating portion of a ventilating duct designed to admit ventilating air naturally through the building While prohibiting entrance of precipitation.

The broad objects of the instant invention are two. First, to provide a ventilator or vent hood of improved functional quality which, when used for example as a combustion gas vent, will give improved blocking action to down drafts even under high wind conditions, and which, while permitting the ready escape of combustion gases and precluding down drafts, will effectively bar entrance of all precip-itation such as rain or snow; and second, to provide a ventilator which is extremely simple and cheap to construct.

Specific objects of the first category are: to provide a ventilator which will introduce minimum impedance to the discharge of combustion gases from the duet to which the ventilator is attached; which will give improved blocking of down drafts such as Often result from heavy external wind in the vicinity of the ventilator; and which will have improved blocking characteristics with respect to precipi'tation such as rain or snow.

The other objects ofthe invention are to provide a ventilator of the above* listed improved functional characteristics which is at the same time constructible of inexpensive materials, and particularly with inexpensive labor time. This latter object is eflected primarily by the extreme minimizing of individual connecting links such as welds,,screws, bolted connections, and the' like.

In accordance'with these objects, there'will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings a preferred form -of the instant ventilator., Many modifications of the ventilator which still retain the advantageous features of the instant invention Will be readily apparent and it will be therefore understood that other types of ventilators are within the scope of the instant invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective View of a preferred species of the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the ventilator taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

2 Claims. (CI. 98-58) Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the ventilator taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of one of the defiecting plates or channels employed in the ventilator assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof one of the spacers employed in the ventilator assembly.

Referring to the drawings, l! designates an upright cylinder formed of sheet metal bonded together with a longitudinal seam formed by spot weiding the overlapping edges |2 and is, as shown at I l. The cylinder Il has a plurality of openings or holes '5 formed about the periphery thereof. These holes are triangular in shape with one apeX of the triangle painting directly down. The holes It are spaced about the periphery of the cylinder H on different levels, four levels being shown in the Fig. 1 example. successive levels of the openings te are staggered, so that, numbering from the top, the openings of the second level are spaced crcumferentially between the openings in the first level, the third level openings are directly below those of the first level, and the fourth level openings are directly below those of the second level.

A plurality of defiecting plates cr channels l'' extend radially from the axis' of the cylinder through the cpenings iS; the channels il are triangular in shape to match the shape of the openings lt. A slit l is made in the end of each channel Il to form a pair of tabs 20 which are bent down at right angles to lie against the outer surface of the cylinder H. It is not necessary to secure the tabs 28 to the cylinder H in any way. The formation of the tabs serves two purposes: it removes the sharp projecting corners of the channels il which would otherwise render awhward the handling of the ventilator; and it facilitates fabrication of the ventilator by providing a stop for the channels l'! as they are inserted into the openings EG. Water or other precipitation falling into the cylinder il is caught in the channels Il, which, being sloped slightly downward, carry the Water to the exterior of the cylinder Il through the respective openings lt. Water leaving the outer edges of the channels il drops downward to the roof of the building on which the ventilator is located.

As best seen in Fig. 4, the channels l" diverge radially outward in width, so that a substantially constant arcuate area is covered by any one channel as it extends radially outward. The effeet of this channel construction, coupled with the staggering of the channels on successive levels results in the eiective cross section of the cylinder II being substantially covered by the aggregate of the channels I", as best seen in Fig. 3. Thus there is no region in the ventilator where falling precipitation can drop clear through the cylinder II, but must inevitably fall into one of the channels l" and be carried to the exterior of the ventilator.

The channels il are held in position by an axial bolt la passing through holes '9 formed in the inner ends of the channels ll. As best'seen in Fig. 2, the inner ends of the channels Il on any one level are lapped at the axis of the cylinder l I, so that their holes l 9 are aligned for the passage therethrough of the bolt '8. The bolt itself is supported by a cross-member 2' extending diametrically across the top edge of the cylinder l I, and having a central hole through which the bolt passes. A nut 22 is threaded onto the top end of the bolt '8, to secure it in place. Individual levels of the channels '1 are separated by annular spacers 23, disposed around the bolt '8 between the several levels of channels. In the embodiment shown, there are three spacers 23, one between each of the four levels of channels Il.

The assembly of the ventilator-one of the important features of the instant invention is extremely quick and easy. Given a cylinder l i, the fabricator merely slips the channels 11 radially inward through the holes IG until the tabs 29 abut the cylinder H. In this position, the connecting holes '9 all lie on the cylinder axis, with the inner ends of the channels on the same level overlapping. The bolt '8 is then threaded through the holes '9 with spacers 23 being inserted between the several levels of channels. With the threading complete, the cross-member 2! is placed across the top edge of the cylinder li with the bolt '8 passing through the central hole therein, and the nut 22 is screwed onto the bolt. It is thus seen that as far as actual securing means are concerned, the bolt '8 serves by itself and without more to hold the ventilator together into a firm compact structure.

There are only two securing points of any nature in the instant ventilator the weld points '4 which form the cylinder I l originally, and the nut 22 threaded onto the bolt I 8. This absolute minimum of junction points results in extremely cheap fabrication, without the least compromise with quality of function or physical strength of the completed ventilator.

Actual tests of the instant ventilator show that a cross wind tends to blow through the holes '6 and channels Il and thence up the ventilator. Thus danger of down drafts is minmized even under windiest conditions. In fact, such cross Winds produce a siphoning or aspirating effect which tends to'draw gases up the ventilator.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the instant invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above.

What is claimed is:

1. A ventilator comprising in combination an upright cylinder having a plurality of openings about the periphery thereof on different levels, a plurality of channels extending radially from the axis of said cylinder thru said openings adapted to carry liquid falling within the cylinder thru said openings to the exterior of said cylinder, the openings on successive levels being staggered so that the effective cross section of said cylinder is substantially covered by the aggregate of said channels, the inner ends of the channels on any one level having openings therein lapped at the cylinder axis, the outer ends of the channels being bent over to form tab means adjacent the exterior surface of the cylinder, a cross member extending diametrically across the top edge of said cylinder, annular spacers disposed on the cylinder axis between the several levels of channels, and an aXial bolt passing thru the lapped openings in the inner ends of the channels, thru the intercalary spacers, and thru the center of said cross member, serving by itself and without more to hold the ventilator together into a firm, compact structure.

2. A ventilator comp'ising in combina'tion an upright cylinder having a 'plurality of openings about the periphery thereof on diierent levels, a plurality of deflecting plates extending radially from the axis of said 'cylinder to said openings adapted to carry liquid falling within the cylinder thru said openings to the exterior of said cylinder, the openings on successive levels being staggered so that the eifective cross section of said cylinder is substantially covered by the aggregate of said plates, the inner ends of the plates on any one level having openings therein lapped at the cylinder axis, a cross member extending dia-metrically across the top of said cylinder, an axial rod secured at its upper end to said cross member and passing through the lapped openings in the inner ends of the plates, and annular spacers around said rod between the several levels of plates.

SAM HERSCH.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 164,652 Mason June 22, 1875 688,693 `Richter Dec. 10, 1901 '730,378 Palladino Jan. 17, 1995 1,033,060 Bos July 16, 1912 l,240,081 Moss Sept. 11, 1917 2399384 ross Apr. 30, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,239 Switzerland May 3, 1897 333,820 Germany Mar. 4, 1921 29,150 Great Britain Oct. 7, 1899 25,839 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1907 217,085 Great Britain June 12, 1924 

